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LOS ANGELES -- Sony has staked out its claim as the video game system for the people.

At the company's event on the eve of the Electronic Entertainment Expo here, Sony Consumer Entertainment president Andrew House dropped a bomb on Microsoft by announcing that its PlayStation 4 would be available this holiday season for $399 -- $100 cheaper than the Xbox One's price tag.

And then, in response to some consumers having found fault with the Xbox One's always-on aspect and it's not-quite-elucidated used games policy, Sony Computer Entertainment America president Jack Tretton dealt some additional body blows. PS4 owners would be able to trade and sell game discs, he said, and would not need to be connected to the Internet to play single-player games.

And Tretton added that games would not become disfunctional if PS4 players did not check in every 24 hours, as it seems that Xbox One games might require. Ironically, the PS4 looked a lot like a two-toned Xbox One.

Beyond that, Sony unveiled a slew of top-notch video games in development for its PS4 system. In addition to multiple "Final Fantasy" games in the works, Square Enix showed off a new "Kingdom Hearts 3" game. And a spooky "The Order: 1866" game should attract fans of "Assassin's Creed" and "Dishonored." Beyond that, impressive new "Gran Turismo" and "Killzone" games were teased.

And Sony showed that it plans to continue catering to indie developers with several PS4 games in the works including a remastering of its original "Oddworld: Abe's Oddyssee."

Having dropped the gauntlet, Sony now can wait to see how the competition responds.